


Float On

by darling_dontworry



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Haikyuu - Freeform, Swimming, a humble offering, a tiny fic, asahi is an old man, beach boyz, general softness, getting hit with volleyballs, nishinoya is a meddling kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 03:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13650051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darling_dontworry/pseuds/darling_dontworry
Summary: Asahi loves the ocean. Growing up in Miyagi, he never really got to spend so much time in front of the sea, but when he did manage to drive out, it was usually a welcome relief from the stress and pressures he felt at home and school. It was a good time to go for a run or a swim, get some sun, and clear his head. Unfortunately, today’s beach day was not going to be one of those days.





	Float On

Asahi loves the ocean. He loves that it’s calm. He loves the smell of it, the musk of warm sand, the tang of washed up seaweed. He loves digging his feet into the wet sand and letting the tide lap at his ankles. He loves that it can be slow and calm and mysterious. Sure, it was scary to think of what could be hiding in the shadows, but Asahi liked to think of it as something that had depth. Something you could never stop learning about. 

Growing up in Miyagi, he never really got to spend so much time in front of the sea, but when he did manage to drive out, it was usually a welcome relief from the stress and pressures he felt at home and school. It was a good time to go for a run or a swim, get some sun, and clear his head. Unfortunately, today’s beach day was not going to be one of those days. 

“ASAHI-SAN!” 

Asahi tears his eyes away from the waves. He barely has time to see who is calling him and why before he feels something round hit him sharply in the ribs. He doubles over wincing. He feels his hands clutching at his side, see the flecks of sand that litter his feet. Then, he hears someone breathing hard next to him. A hand grasps at his shoulder, shaking him slightly. 

“Asahi-san, are you ok?” 

It hurts, Asahi thinks, as he gulps a lungful of salty air. He rubs the stinging spot with his palm and turns his head to see Nishinoya’s face staring back at him. If he feels bad for Asahi, his expression doesn’t show it — Nishinoya looks exhilarated as always, grinning as if he just thought of a clever joke, his hand on Asahi’s shoulder dropping to his side.

“Sure,” Asahi says, attempting a jaunty grin to match Nishinoya’s. He knows it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. As Asahi straightens up, Nishinoya steps back, staring at the volleyball near his feet. He picks it up and presses it into Nishinoya’s chest. 

“Play a set with us,” Nishinoya says, taking the ball from Asahi. “We need another spiker.” 

Asahi pretends to consider, letting his gaze wander over to where his classmates had set up a cheap volleyball net in the sand. Hinata is there, waving and jumping up and down. Asahi watches as the first year takes a big breath to shout something at him, only to be interrupted by Kageyama, who claps a hand on his shoulder and whispers something in his ear. Hinata nods and points at Tanaka, who is giving them his best intimidating face. 

“Well, it’s two on two right now, so I think you’ll be ok,” Asahi says, looking back at Nishinoya. 

“I think Suga wants to play,” Nishinoya says. He points over at a beach towel by the volleyball net. Daichi lies face up on the towel, holding a book over his head. Sugawara is standing next to him in the sand on tiptoe, stretching his arms above him. 

“Even so,” Asahi says, scratching the back of his head and looking at Nishinoya, “I wanted to go for a swim before it gets too cold.” 

Asahi expects Nishinoya to punch him in the chest and tell him to man up or something. But instead, Nishinoya’s grin grows impossibly bright. 

“Okay! Let’s do this!” he says, puffing out his chest. 

“What?” 

“I could go for a swim, too.” Nishinoya waves at the other guys. “We’re going for a swim! We’ll be back!” 

Tanaka gives them a thumbs up before Sugawara runs over to give him a high five. Asahi feels his stomach drop. He was hoping that a swim would give him a little quiet time and Nishinoya definitely wasn’t a quiet time kind of guy. He watches as Nishinoya trudges into the waves, stripping off his tank top and throwing it haphazardly behind him. He looks back at Asahi, up to his thighs in the water, grin wild. 

“Wanna race?” 

“Nishinoya…” 

The boy shouts with laughter. 

“Relax, relax, I’m just messing with you. Let’s just go for it.” 

Asahi lets out a breath and smiles, wading into water. He follows Nishinoya as they trudge to waist-deep water, then start a free stroke towards the horizon. 

With each breath, Asahi’s arms glide through the next stroke, water lapping at his temples. Swimming is very calming for him. When he swims by himself, Asahi doesn’t really know where to go and his just lets his mind wander until he decides he’s getting tired. He’ll even stop and just let the water take him as he floats (provided it’s a calm day). This time, he just follows Nishinoya, occasionally glancing towards land to make sure they don’t get to far away. 

“Hey,” he says after they swim around 150 meters. “Can we take a break?” 

Nishinoya pauses in the water. 

“Ok!” 

Asahi flips himself over on his back and floats. He looks for a cloud and feels the water gently pushing and pulling his hair loose beneath his head. 

“How do you do that?” Nishinoya says. 

Asahi looks over at him and sees that he’s treading the water. His head is bobbing up and down slightly, arms and legs swirling underneath trying to keep himself a float. Asahi straightens out. 

“I just… lean back? The water is salty so it keeps you up more. You can’t do it?”

“I always sink! See?” 

Nishinoya flips onto his back and immediately slides underneath the surface of the water. He pops up, wiping his face and laughing. Asahi can’t help but laugh back at him. 

“Take in a lungful of air. That might help you be a bit more buoyant.” 

Nishinoyae tries again, this time, face screwed in concentration, cheeks puffed out as he holds in a deep breath. Asahi can’t help but laugh again as the boy sinks back down. He doesn’t show any signs of distress after not being able to do it, but he slaps at the water excitedly. The only other thing that Asahi had heard about floating was that you needed to be really relaxed. He swims towards Nishinoya and tells him to try one more time. 

“Close your eyes," he says, reaching his arms out. "I’ll hold you up.” 

Treading water with his legs, Asahi presses his hands under Nishinoya’s back. It's tiring, so he knows he needs to make it quick. He stares at Nishinoya, who had closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling, his legs and arms moving unconsciously with the waves. 

“Take a deep breath in," Asahi says, exaggerating an inhale, "... and out.” He blows air out of pursed lips. 

It was a technique he had read about to calm himself before games. Just take three deep breaths. Asahi talks Nishinoya through two more breaths, slowly moving his hands away and allowing him to float on his own.

“Ok. Now, just float,” Asahi says, moving his arms freely and staring down at Nishinoya. He could be sleeping. 

Nishinoya blinks after a few seconds, and his eyes meet Asahi’s. 

“I’m doing it!” he says. As Nishinoya speaks, Asahi sees his eyes widen in panic before he sinks below the water again. He instinctively grabs for Nishinoya, who immediately bobs up above the surface and takes a huge gulp of air. 

“But I was doing it!” Nishinoya says, as he catches his breath, eyes open wide, mouth forming an tiny pout. 

Asahi bursts into laughter, nearly sinking under the surface with a combination of amusement and exhaustion from treading water too long. He's like a little kid. Nishinoya laughs too, the pout is gone, his eyes are bright again. 

Asahi is still laughing as he turns and floats on his back, the water calming his aching thighs and forearms. He hears a bit of splashing as Nishinoya attempts to float beside him. Then it's quiet. 

“Are you doing it?” Asahi says, lifting his head slightly to look at Nishinoya. 

“Yeah.” 

The two are quiet for a bit. Asahi sees the sun getting a little lower, spies a wispy cloud a few thousand feet away. He lets his ears under the surface of the water, wanting to hear nothing but the ocean. After a few moments, he feels the soft bump of another body on his shoulder. 

“It’s kind of nice. Not doing anything,” Nishinoya says. 

“Mmm.” 

“It’s peaceful.” 

Asahi grins to the sky, then closes his eyes. The water rocks underneath him and Nishinoya, pulling them closer to the shore.

**Author's Note:**

> how do you put links in these things. someone help!


End file.
